The present disclosure relates to bagging machine systems and methods for bagging organic and other materials such as silage, compost, grain, sawdust, dirt, sand, and other materials.
Agricultural feed bagging machines have been employed for several years to pack or bag silage or the like into elongated plastic bags. In recent years, the bagging machines have also been used to pack or bag compost material and grain into the elongated plastic bags. Two of the earliest bagging machines are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,687,061 and 4,046,068, the complete disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. In these bagging machines, silage or the like is supplied to the forward or intake end of the bagging machine and is fed to a rotor or other compression means, which conveys the silage into a tunnel on which the bag is positioned so that the bag is filled. The bagging machine moves forward at a controlled rate leaving the packed bag behind. The packing density of the material packed in the bag is determined and controlled by a number of factors including the rate at which the bagging machine moves forward and the rate at which the silage material is packed into the bag.
Bags used in conjunction with bagging machines are often very large, long, and heavy making installation of the bags onto bag machines often awkward, difficult, and hazardous. Over the years, techniques and methods have been developed to install bags onto bag machines. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,408,810 and 5,799,472, the complete disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes, disclose bag retainers and bag pans for installing and holding bags installed on bagging machines. However, additional improvements in bag installation systems and methods will serve to provide more convenient, safe, and simplified systems and methods for installing bags onto bagging machines. Therefore, a need exists for systems and methods that address one or more of the issues discussed above.